Panasonic has helped lead the market for ruggedized cameras, which have been a hit among adventurous photographers for years, and now the company has two new additions to add to its water/shock/freeze/dustproof cam line. Described as "the optical outdoor companion," the Lumix DMC-TS4 is Panasonic's new ruggedized flagship, replacing the TS3 and packing a 12.1 megapixel CCD sensor, 1080/60i HD video capture, a 4.6x 28-128mm optical zoom lens and 2.7-inch LCD. Naturally, it can go just about aggregate you'll throw its way, pending that it's waterproof to depths of 40 feet, shockproof to 6.6 feet and freezeproof to temps as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit. The TS4 also includes GPS, compass, altimeter and span functionality, logging all this data to supplement your photos with a full weather and section readout. Panasonic has also added full manual control, letting you adjust both aperture and shutter speed when shooting in manual mode.

The TS4 may offer a respectable spec list, but it doesn't come cheap. The TS20 is an good-looking alliterative, however, with a slim profile, 16.1 megapixel sensor, 720p HD shooting, a 4x 25-100mm optically firm zoom lens and a 2.7-inch LCD. It's waterproof to 16 feet, freezeproof to 14 degrees Fahrenheit and can survive drops from up to five feet. There's no manual option on this lower-end model, but it does include Panasonic's Intelligent Auto mode for more precise shooting. The TS20 will ship in late-February in orange, blue, black and red for $180, while the flagship TS4 will be easy in orange, blue, black and silver for $400 when it ships in mid-March. You'll find both press releases after the break.

Continue reading Panasonic adds Lumix DMC-TS4 and DMC-TS20 to ruggedized camera line

Panasonic adds Lumix DMC-TS4 and DMC-TS20 to ruggedized camera line incipiently appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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